


Unfortunate Soul

by totallyunrelated



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-20
Updated: 2019-04-20
Packaged: 2020-01-20 15:59:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,765
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18528361
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/totallyunrelated/pseuds/totallyunrelated
Summary: After getting a suspicious call from a government agency, Percy is sent to camp for protection, because he can't keep himself out of trouble ... Or the one in which Percy is caught doing some questionable things on camera during the Battle of Manhattan and now the Avengers want to recruit him ... or possibly imprison him. How unlucky can he get?(Originally posted on fanfiction.net under the same name)





	1. Chapter 1

•ONE•

In an office buried deep underground, concealed from the rest of the world, a man hunched over his desk, a yellow file in his hands. Big, bold red words were stamped across it: CONFIDENTIAL. He looked back at his laptop and sighed, then slowly opened the file. Seven pictures fell out, giving him an unobstructed view of the bold black letters printed neatly on white paper.

AVENGERS INITIATIVE.

The photos all showed vastly different people. People who, frankly, didn't look as if they would get along very well with each other. They didn't have much in common, except for one thing: their files were all stamped with the words DANGEROUS. POSSIBLE INHUMAN. UNDER SURVEILLANCE.

The man heaved a deep sigh and picked up the first photograph, which showed a vibrant scarlet-haired woman in what looked to be assassin gear, with a dagger in her hand and a matching threatening look on her face. She was looking slightly away from the camera, her other hand resting on the glinting hilt sheathed in her belt, her muscles tensed as if to throw at an unseen enemy.

Scrawled on the top of her file, the letters glaring up at the man, were the details his spies had gathered about her, before she had come to them.

**NAME:** Natalia Alianovna Romanova

**OTHER NAMES:** Natasha Romanoff

**ALIAS:** Black Widow

**CURRENT STATUS:** Alive. S.H.I.E.L.D Agent.

Reaching through the multitude of papers on his desk, he received a black stamp and stamped her file. When he lifted the stamp, it read, in large letters: GREEN.

He set to work, examining the other pictures and their corresponding files, stamping some with the green stamp and some with red.

Tony Stark, also known as Iron Man: green.

Thor, Norse god of thunder: red.

Bruce Banner, a.k.a the Hulk: red.

Steven Rogers, Captain America: green.

Clint Barton, Hawkeye: green.

Finally he set aside Hawkeye's file and reached for the last one. For a brief moment, he hesitated, as if reluctant; but then he seemed to shake it off and picked up the photograph with new resolve.

A black haired teen stared back up at him.

It looked to be a yearbook photo, maybe two or three years old. The boy had windswept, raven black hair, which refused to be tamed, though someone had evidently tried, and striking green eyes that bore into the soul. They were a unique colour, one that the man had never seen before on anyone else, despite scanning files like these on a daily basis. Accompanying that photo were several others, grainy, which looked as if they had been taken from a street CCTV. Parts of the image were blurred out, the item in the boy's hand looking like a cross between a gleaming bronze sword and a wooden baseball bat. He was facing away from the camera, while a giant dog with glaring red eyes stared at him intently. The dog, too, was hard to make out; but the man, who was accustomed to interacting with the impossible on a daily basis, knew instinctively that it had to be something supernatural. Although not much of the boy's face could be seen apart from a single sea-green eye, there was something intimidating about his posture and the way he gripped the sword/bat in his hand. It was hard to match the smiling boy in the yearbook photo to the security photos; one might even think they were entirely different people. However, the man sitting at the desk knew better.

This boy's file stood out from all the rest, if only because of the lack of it. The man stared down at the single piece of paper in front of him, which contrasted sharply with the stacks of paper for the others (except Thor) which could have made up several books.

**NAME:** Perseus Jackson

**AGE:** 16

**MOTHER:** Sally Jackson

**FATHER:** Unknown

The man frowned, massaging his temples. How was it that a simple sixteen-year-old boy had evaded S.H.I.E.L.D surveillance for so long? They were the most technologically advanced, the best in the world. There was definitely something suspicious about him, even if he was only sixteen. He exhaled, seeming uncomfortable, before stamping it RED.

His thoughts still lingering on the mysterious boy, he reached for the phone sitting on the desk and punched in a set of numbers. Leaning back, he listened to the rings. One ... two ... three ...

"What is it? I'm busy," came the slightly annoyed voice of the former Russian spy.

Nicholas Fury, Director of S.H.I.E.L.D, let out a long-suffering breath at the sound of her clipped tone. "I have a job for you."


	2. Chapter 2

•TWO•

Light filtered in, brightening up the apartment cheerfully with the morning sun's rays. A young brown haired woman hummed to herself, wearing a smile on her face, as she busied herself about the kitchen, looking for all the world like a normal housewife going about her business - except for the not-so-inconspicuous gleaming bronze dagger lying on the kitchen counter which she perpetually kept in reach. Though things had certainly calmed down a lot in the past months, Sally Jackson was well aware of her son's infamous status throughout the demigod world and the multitude of enemies he had attracted. Needless to say, she was a wise woman and knew that they almost certainly knew Percy's fatal flaw, loyalty, so she did her best to keep herself and her husband safe. Even with her vast skill set, she was well aware that she was only mortal and would probably be vastly outnumbered and outmatched, but she was determined to do her best.

She hummed to herself as she got out flour, sugar and eggs, eyes sparkling with love and affection as she mixed the cookie batter and automatically added a few drops of blue food dye. She was so lost in thought that she almost dropped the spatula she was holding at the abrupt  _ringg!_ of the phone.

Frowning, she put down the bowl and crossed the room to answer it, worry creasing her brow. The phone almost  _never_ rang. The demigods mostly preferred to use Iris Messages, and besides that, no demigod even  _owned_ a phone in the first place. They were like a beacon to monsters. So who could it be?

A feeling of dread pooled in her stomach as she slowly picked it up and said, "Hello? Jackson residence here. How may I help you?" She congratulated herself on her steady tone, even if she felt like falling over at any minute.

"Sally Jackson, correct? May I speak to your son, Perseus Jackson?" The cool tone on the other end of the line sent shivers down the mother's spine.  _Nobody_ except the gods, her and his enemies used, or even knew his full name. What trouble had Percy gotten himself into this time?

"Perseus is not in at the moment," she replied, fighting to keep her tone neutral. "However, I can pass the message along to him."

The other end went silent for a brief pause, and for a moment Sally fought down the hope that they had given up (but when had Percy ever been so lucky?) and she was about to hang up when the voice started up again.

"I am Agent Romanoff, from SHIELD," she said. "We want to include your son in the Avengers Initiative. It's an important honour. We've taken notice of all the ...  _extraordinary_ things he's done, and would like to meet him in person a week from now to discuss this."

Sally's breath caught in her throat. The agent's voice was nonthreatening, but she couldn't help but detect an underlying lethal tone in her voice, clearly implying that this was not a choice. They would force Percy to join their Avengers team, or they would most likely lock him up. She couldn't even begin to imagine the things they had discovered about him. Most would probably get him thrown into prison.

As nonchalantly as she could, she put the phone back to her ear and said, "Of course. I'll be sure to pass the message onto him." Placing the receiver back onto the stand, she fell onto the couch, burying her face into her hands. Then, steeling her resolve, she retrieved a drachma from Percy's secret stash under his bed and went to make an Iris Message.

* * *

Percy was having a very normal day.

Well, a very normal  _demigod_ day. Which was to say that he was, for once, not having a near-death experience.

Actually ...

Percy grinned ferally at his cousin as their blades clashed and sparks flew off from the sheer force. They were both panting slightly, the battle having gone on for over an hour already. They leapt away from each other, circling and eyeing each other in the manner of predators eyeing their prey. Only in this case, no one was really sure who was the predator and who the prey.

"Giving up, Thals?" Percy taunted, gaze fixed on the threatening way the punk girl wielded her spear as he readied his own bronze sword.

"Never," she replied, face contorted in a sneer. "If anything,  _you're_ going to be the one giving up."

"Wanna bet?" he challenged, then they both rushed the other again, the clanking sounds of metal meeting metal filling the air as their friends cheered them on from the stands.

"You'll lose that bet," she gasped, flicking a piece of hair away from her face.

Percy only raised an eyebrow at her as he lunged, sidestepping her thrust. She barely avoided the sword aiming straight at her side, bringing up her shield just in time.

"This is boring," Percy complained. "Why wouldn't they let us use our powers?"

"Oh, I don't know -  _because you two blow up something every time you do?_ " came the very sarcastic sounding voice of his girlfriend, Annabeth. He could just picture her rolling her eyes, even if he couldn't see her.

Finally, he managed to disarm Thalia, sending her spear skidding to the far end of the arena before knocking her shield out of her hand and kicking her, sending her crashing into the ground. Sword at her neck, he smirked down at her.

"Yield?"

Thalia grumbled, but she knew she was beat. "I yield."

Grinning, he helped her up as she dusted herself off, sighing. "Next time I'll get you, Jackson!"

"Highly doubt it," he snickered. "You say that every time."

Huffing, Thalia rolled her eyes, but she couldn't deny it. Still, she had a smile on her lips as she briefly hugged him then headed off to the Artemis cabin, claiming she had some "lieutenant stuff to do". Percy smiled fondly; he knew that it was just an excuse to nurse her wounded pride. After all, she was a daughter of Zeus.

By then, Annabeth had climbed down from the bleachers and reached his side. Attempting to pull her in for a kiss, he snaked an arm around her waist, only for her to slap it away.

"You stink," she complained, her nose wrinkled but a smile tugging at her lips all the same. "I'm not kissing you until you take a shower!"

"Oh really?" Percy smirked at his girlfriend, who had her arms crossed and a dangerous  _I dare you_ expression on her face. They were in the middle of a silent staring match when suddenly, an Iris message appeared in between them, blocking Percy's view of her stormy grey eyes.


	3. Chapter 3

•THREE•

"Percy!"

Percy's face turned from slightly annoyed to concerned in a matter of milliseconds as he stared at his mother's panicked face in the Iris Message.

"Mom? What's wrong? Is there a monster? Do I need to come over?" He spoke in a rush, barely anybody save for his mother and girlfriend able to decipher his hasty words as he tripped over sentences in his worry for his mother. He was barely aware that he already had Riptide out, grasped in his restless hand, itching to pummel whatever was responsible for the look on his mother's face.

Sally Jackson took a deep breath, seeming to calm down a little due to her motherly instincts when sensing her son's panic. She suddenly looked sheepish, wondering if she was making too big a deal out of this. Well, there was no turning back now; Percy's fatal flaw wasn't loyalty for nothing.

"It's probably nothing, but ... I just got a call from this government agency called SHIELD. They wanted you, Percy; they wanted you to join something called the Avengers. And I have the feeling they won't take no for an answer." Annabeth, in the background, was already looking thoughtful, the cogs in her Athena brain whirring.

"I think it's probably best if you stay away from them, Percy. We don't know what they want with you or even what they are; they could be dangerous and I'm willing to bet that if you say no, there'll be something bad in store for you," Annabeth spoke up.

"Yes, exactly. It's bad if a government agency has taken an interest in you for whatever reason. That's why ... that's why I think you should stay at camp for now, Percy. They won't be able to find you there, and you'll be safe," pleaded his mother.

"What? No! I promised you I'd visit this weekend," Percy protested. He had been very much looking forward to seeing his mom and Paul again, and now, to hear that he couldn't go? It had been his mom and him for so long; even now that he was nearly seventeen, he was still very much a mama's boy. He always missed her when they were apart; even more so now because he hadn't seen her for nearly a year due to the Giant War, too busy afterwards with reparations and monster attacks.

His mother's eyes were filled with unshed tears; she hated being apart from him as much as, or even more than, he did, but she stayed strong for his sake. Her voice didn't even quaver.

"I can't lose you again, Percy. Please. Just stay at camp and stay safe. For me?"

Despite himself, Percy couldn't deny his mother anything, and so he agreed.

* * *

Annabeth trailed after her boyfriend as he stormed into his cabin, the dark look on his face preventing any bypassers from coming up to him. Around camp, he was known as a hero, as their leader; all the new campers looked up to him and were intimidated by him. Everybody knew by now not to approach him if he was angry; everybody, that is, except for Annabeth.

Flinging himself onto his bunk dejectedly, face-down, he started ranting into his pillow. None of it made sense to Annabeth, but she knew it was best to let him calm down on his own, so instead of making him talk to her, she perched on the edge of his bed and rubbed his back in a soothing manner. Finally, just as her hand was getting tired and she contemplated lying down next to him instead, he seemed to calm down a little and rolled over, one hand over his face, looking up at her through splayed fingers. Despite the circumstances, she felt her lips quirk up into a smile.

Percy mostly only showed one side of him to those around him. The sarcastic, troublemaking, heroic Percy, who slayed monsters and was awe-inspiring with a sword in his hand. That was all most people knew him as now; the great hero who hadn't only saved Olympus once, but  _twice_. Not many people knew that there was another side to him; the vulnerable, child-like boy who sometimes just needed someone to tell him it was going to be okay. He was only human, after all. And Annabeth thanked the gods every single day that she was one of those people who he allowed to see this side of him. It meant he trusted her fully, completely, enough to show her what he deemed as his 'weak' side. As a leader, a commander, Percy often felt as if he couldn't show any weakness in front of anybody, lest they think he was unfit to lead them. So it was a great privilege to be able to see the other side to him.

Right now, he was wearing an adorable pout, looking for all the world like a ten-year-old boy with his hair ruffled and his hands over his face. Unable to resist, she leaned down and pressed her lips to his in a chaste kiss, only to yelp in surprise as he snuck an arm around her waist and pulled her down on top of him. Spread-eagled over his body, Annabeth heaved a contented sigh and laid her head down on his chest, sensing that at this moment, what Percy needed was comfort and not a make-out session (even though she desperately wanted to engage in the latter). He buried his nose in her neck, inhaling the scent of lemon and something distinctly  _Annabeth_. For a while, they lay in silence, neither of them wanting to break the peaceful quiet that they so rarely got.

"Why me?" Percy whispered, so low that Annabeth could barely hear him. He seemed to be talking more to himself than to her. "After everything ... two wars ... countless near-death situations ... you'd think we deserve a break." He heaved a long sigh. "Now some ... some stupid government agency is after me and I can't even see my own  _mom_. This is  _bullshit_."

The moment he swore, Annabeth knew it was serious. Though it was surprising, Percy rarely ever swore. Annabeth? She was a regular potty-mouth, having picked it up from older campers, though nobody ever expected it of her. Initially, when she'd asked Percy about it, he'd clammed up and refused to say a word, but during one of the sleepless nights after Tartarus on the Argo II, he'd confessed to her that it was because of his ex-stepfather, Gabe Ugliano. Gabe was a regular bastard - alcoholic, abusive, you name it. " _I don't ever want to be like Gabe,_ " Percy had said, fists balled and a dark look on his face. He had refused to say anything else, but Annabeth's heart had still warmed at the knowledge that he trusted her enough to share that much with her.

"This is my fault," Percy continued, half to himself, his voice laced with despair. "I didn't check if there were cameras around ... I should have ... I should have been more careful ... what if they have files on other demigods too?" At that, he shot up, dislodging a very disgruntled Annabeth from her comfortable position, halfway out of the bed already. She pushed him back down.

"It's  _not_ your fault," she told him firmly in that no-nonsense tone she reserved strictly for him, Leo and the Stolls. "If anything, it's mine. I'm the leader of the Athena cabin. I should have thought of that. Just because the mortals were asleep didn't mean they took the cameras offline too."

"Of course it's not your fault, Annie!" Percy said indignantly. "None of us could have known."

"Exactly," Annabeth said, pointing a threatening finger at him. "So don't go blaming yourself. We can ask Leo to hack their files and remove anything incriminating. It will be fine," she said, trying to convince herself.

Frowning, she considered the information Sally had given them. SHIELD ... she vaguely remembered that name before, but from where?  _Time to do some research,_ she concluded and got up to retrieve her trusty laptop.

* * *

"Annabeth," Percy groaned, sounding half-asleep. "It's midnight. You can continue tomorrow. Go to sleep."

Annabeth was curled up on the bunk next to Percy's, staring intently at her laptop screen. Apart from getting up to go to dinner and the campfire, she hadn't moved in the last six hours, too busy researching what exactly SHIELD and the Avengers were. So far, she had come up with frustrating little, which bruised her Athena pride, which was how Percy found himself in this situation, trying to coax his girlfriend away from her laptop and to sleep. He was all too aware of her tendency to overwork herself and consequently exhaust herself the next morning, and so help him, he was  _not_ going to let it happen again.

"I've nearly got it," Annabeth muttered. "Five more minutes -"

" _No_ ," Percy growled, leaning over to gently shut her laptop. "Sleep. It's still going to be there tomorrow. And you'll be no use if you're falling asleep."

Annabeth tried to protest, but Percy turned a deaf ear, shoving her towards the bathroom. Rolling her eyes fondly and knowing she wouldn't be allowed anywhere near her laptop until the morning. Besides, now that she thought about it, she  _was_ pretty tired.

"Goodnight, Percy," she whispered into the darkness of the cabin, smiling fondly as a snore was emitted from the bed beside her.

After the Giant War, Percy and Annabeth had started sneaking into each other's cabins to sleep - well, more like Annabeth snuck into Percy's cabin, since she had siblings she had to share her cabin with and he had a cabin all to himself. After Chiron had caught them one too many times, he'd finally given up and allowed them to sleep in Poseidon's cabin, as long as the god didn't mind and as long as they were being safe. He'd given them a meaningful look at that and both teens, blushing bright red, had immediately escaped before he could think to give them the dreaded  _Talk_. Good thing Annabeth had thought ahead and started sacrificing to Poseidon, placing her in his good graces so she was allowed to sleep in his cabin. The reason for that was, of course, not anything naughty; but Tartarus had taken its toll on both of them and would often torment them in their dreams with nightmares. They'd found that the nightmares got better when they were with each other during their time on the Argo II, sneaking into each other's cabins.

* * *

_Dreamscape:_

_"Percy? Where are you?"_

_Annabeth wandered through the dense fog, her heartbeat accelerating and fear thrumming through her veins. It felt like she had been walking for hours and still no sign of Percy. Occasionally, he'd appear a ways in front of her, as if he was taunting her, only to disappear once she got closer._

_"Percy!" she screamed, panic beginning to set in. Why had he abandoned her? Hadn't she loved him enough, been a good girlfriend? Why did he leave her? She didn't want him to leave, not ever, she couldn't live without her Percy ..._

_Mocking laughter swirled around her, making her spine go rigid. Her head swung in wild circles, looking around desperately. "Percy! Answer me! Come back!" she cried..._

Annabeth woke with a gasp, Percy's name still on her lips. She looked frantically around, her breathing irregular, until her eyes found the sleeping form of her boyfriend on the next bed. Another nightmare. She'd thought they were getting better, more infrequent, but they still happened. This was a bad night; one of the worst dreams. What made it the worst was that it wasn't really a dream, it was a  _memory_ ; of the time when she'd been hit with the  _arai_ 's curse from Calypso. To have Percy abandon her in favour of another girl. Logically, she knew it would never happen, but she couldn't help that now, whenever she saw Percy with another girl, even if it was Piper or Hazel or Thalia, no matter how much she knew she trusted Percy, she couldn't stop the feeling from surfacing. Couldn't help the fear that he would decide she wasn't good enough, wasn't smart enough, wasn't pretty or brave enough and leave her.

Still shaking all over and holding back tears, Annabeth crawled over to Percy, pushing a lock of hair back from his face and taking in every detail of him, reminding herself,  _He's mine. He's mine and nothing will ever take him away from me._ She repeated the mantra in her head, trying to banish the hateful feeling as she steadied her breathing, wrapping her arms around herself to keep from touching Percy and waking him.

But he seemed to almost have a sixth-sense, an Annabeth-sense, that informed him whenever Annabeth was hurt or upset or injured. Normally Annabeth would tease him about it and get tickled for her trouble, but at times like these she was so, so grateful for her psychic boyfriend. "Huh? Wassup, Annabeth?" Percy blinked blearily, rolling over a little and taking in the sight of his trembling girlfriend, staring at him with large stormy-grey eyes, and was immediately jolted awake.

Wordlessly, he lifted a corner of the blanket for her to slide in and she grabbed his face, pulling him into a bruising kiss, tears finally escaping her eyes and sliding down her cheeks. He returned the kiss with equal fervor and wrapped his arms around her lithe frame, rubbing his hands soothingly up and down her sides as she shook and sobbed, all the while managing to pull his shirt up over his head. She didn't need to say a word; Percy understood. After one of those dreams, what Annabeth needed most was the physical, tangible feel of Percy in her arms, touching him to reassure herself that he was real, he was here and he was never ever going to leave her. He never questioned her; just stopped her when she went a little too far and told her over and over that  _I'm here; we're here, we're together and I won't ever leave you._

Running her hands up and down his body, she didn't even stop to think as her hands automatically went to his boxer shorts, half pulling them down before Percy's gentle yet firm hands stopped her. After the first time the dream happened, Annabeth had tried to get into his pants and they'd decided to have the discussion to save themselves any future embarrassment or misunderstandings. Hurt and confused, her mind addled and her heart aching, she'd asked him if he didn't want her - was she not pretty enough? Thin enough? - , but he'd reassured her that it wasn't that he didn't want her, it was just that neither of them in their right state of mind would want their first time to be under the influence of panic and fear, solely trying to convince themselves that the other was there and alive. They would both just come to regret that. So they had agreed that all activities would stay above the waist whenever one of them sought out the other after a nightmare. And Annabeth agreed with it wholeheartedly and knew that he was right in stopping her before she did anything she would regret in the morning - not that she would regret it, she loved him and knew that she wanted to spend the rest of her life with him - but sometimes, like now, she would just lose her head and give in to her most primal desires to prove to herself that he was really with her.


	4. Chapter 4

•FOUR•

The glint of a knife blade caught the light of the setting sun as the expertly trained Russian spy scaled the building soundlessly. Anyone who happened to look up at that exact moment would see only a flash of steel and shake it off, wondering if they were imagining things and continue on their merry way; perched directly in the shadow of the building, black hood up, Natasha Romanoff, as she preferred to be known, was invisible. She was pressed snugly in a narrow crook, whilst one floor above Sally Jackson sat unassuming in her cheerful apartment, having dinner with her husband, completely unaware that at that very moment she was being spied on.

Natasha heaved a silent sigh and glanced at the dim screen of her watch, briefly illuminating the shadow she hid in. 7:50 PM. Freshly back from a mission gone disastrously wrong in Germany, she'd immediately been sent out to collect their final recruit: a sixteen-year-old boy by the name of Perseus Jackson, whose mother lived in the very apartment she was lying in wait under. There was an uneasy feeling stirring in her gut as she lay there, steadying her breathing; although as a spy she had done much in her time - tortured and even killed people - there was something about this job that didn't sit right with her. What use would Fury have for a sixteen-year old boy? But she wasn't made for questioning; if there was a job to be done, she would do it. Which led to her sitting there, spying on a perfectly normal middle-aged couple. She shook off her trepidation and stealthily scaled the wall, intent on finishing her job.

There was no room for doubt, not when there was a mission on the line.

* * *

Paranoia crept in on Sally Jackson as she received the distinct feeling that she was being watched. She'd gotten extremely good at noticing things that were out of place over the years; being a clear-sighted mortal who could see the Greek monsters that roamed the streets, it had been a requirement. Even more so when she'd been carrying a demigod, a Big Three demigod at that. She forced a smile on her face, chatting away to her husband Paul about inane things like  _how was your day_ , all the while trying to subtly swivel her head to detect the source of the disturbance.

 _There._ A flash in the corner of her eye at the far corner of the living room, gone without a trace by the time she gave it a second glance. Whoever, or  _what_ ever it was moved fast. She'd barely gotten a glimpse, but in that split second she'd recognised a humanoid shape. So not a monster, then. She frowned, Paul blissfully unaware of her churning thoughts as she tuned him out, occasionally emitting a noncommittal sound, flipping through a mental encyclopedia on all Greek things that went  _bump_ in the night.

Empousa? No, they had a bronze leg, they couldn't possibly scale a wall.

A nymph? ... That wasn't possible, they hated to be out of water.

A thought suddenly struck her like lightning, causing her to stiffen, though she did so imperceptibly so as not to alarm the person lurking outside her window. For she was fairly sure it was a person, now.

It had been precisely a week since the phone call from the mysterious SHIELD agent. No doubt they were here to scope out their quarry.

* * *

Balanced on the windowsill, Natasha peered in through a gap in the curtains. At the dining table sat two people; a man with salt-and-pepper hair, the boy's stepfather if her intel was correct, and a brunette woman, his mother. A tremor of guilt shot through her. Why was she here? They weren't criminals. They were just ordinary citizens and she was here to take their son from them.

Trying to bury the guilt deep inside her, she fumbled in her pocket for the listening device. It was small and compact, built to look like a tiny bug so as to be inconspicuous. Taking a deep breath, she gently placed it onto the window, watching as it scuttled away and disappeared from view deep inside the apartment. She would have preferred one with a camera function, but SHIELD had deemed it a violation of privacy. Sometimes, she really questioned their moral compass; wasn't a listening device as much, if not more, of an invasion of privacy?

Switching on her earpiece, the muffled sounds of their conversation sharpened, the listening device picking up on every word uttered. "... and today this kid started a food fight in the lunchroom," the man was saying, chortling, showing his wife a ketchup stain on his shirt. Natasha remembered something in his file about being a teacher at a local high school.

The woman was smiling distractedly, nodding along to what her husband was saying, looking for all the world like she was deeply focused on the conversation, but Natasha's training honed in on the tense set of her shoulders, the furtive glances from side to side. Instinctively, she swung over to the side of the building, taking no risks that the woman would see her.

Her job accomplished, she scaled down soundlessly, a frown gracing her features. Something about the job disturbed her. Sure, she had known from the start that this might be required; on the phone, the woman had sounded scared, furtive, and Natasha had known immediately that she would try to warn her son. But this just didn't seem right to her. The boy had exhibited no supernatural tendencies, hadn't done anything wrong. So what use did Fury have for him?

Whatever the case, the boy was nowhere to be found. She couldn't help herself but think,  _Perseus Jackson, wherever you are ... you'd better stay there._ Hopefully, soon enough Fury would forget about him. After all, he was just one in a million sixteen-year-old teenage boys; there was nothing special about him.


	5. Chapter 5

•FIVE•

"The boy?"

Pausing her careful weapons inventory, Natasha didn't so much as look in the direction of the voice. She briefly contemplated what to do before mutely shaking her head, not trusting her voice at the moment. Technically, Fury was her boss; it wouldn't do to question him.

She could feel his sigh, even if she couldn't see him, and bit her lip to prevent a retort from slipping out. They were all high-strung after the afternoon's events.

"Did you at least plant the device?"

She nodded once, sharply, hoping he would take the hint and leave. She didn't want to have to face him, not now, not with all the doubt and guilt and confusion swirling inside her, ready to burst out at any given moment. Mentally steeling herself for the confrontation, surprise ignited inside her as, after lingering for a brief moment, his calculating eyes studying her, he left.

Exhaling shakily, she swept the weapons off her bed and into the chest she kept them in before sitting down and burying her face in her hands. The uneasy feeling still lingered in her chest, choking her throat up with guilt. She could still hear the muted sounds of the dishwasher running in the Jacksons' apartment; disgusted, she ripped the earpiece out and tossed it in a corner of the room, not caring at the moment if it would get broken or not, though she knew for sure she'd be in for a tongue-lashing if it did.

The moment Sally Jackson had picked up the phone, Natasha had known that the retrieval would not go smoothly. At best, Perseus would need strong convincing; at worst, he wouldn't show up at all. Still, she felt relief flooding her veins at the outcome. She didn't want to bring a kid into this mess, especially not now. Not now when they were dealing with supernatural beings, aliens from another planet, things that even  _she_ didn't know how to deal with. No, it was best that he had disappeared off the face of the planet.

Putting the boy out of her mind, she gathered up her courage, her face slipping into a neutral expression, and headed out.

Besides, she had more pressing matters to worry about.

* * *

Percy was bored.

He'd been confined to camp for all of a week, and already his ADHD was becoming unbearable, at least according to Annabeth, who was unlucky enough to have to put up with him the most. Currently, he was sprawled across her lap while she used his back as a table, trying to maintain her focus on ... whatever she was doing, and all the while Percy groaned and moaned and was generally being a nuisance.

"I give up!" Annabeth half-shouted, throwing her hands up in the air. Her prized laptop, given to her by her half-brother Daedalus, almost went tumbling to the floor as Percy jerked upright at her exclamation, only saved by her trained demigod reflexes. Hugging the laptop to her chest, she glared, exasperated, at her boyfriend. He turned doe-eyes on her, and her resistance crumbled, her chest deflating as she swallowed the angry words she was about to say.

"Come on, Percy," she half-pleaded, pushing him off her lap into an upright position. "I get that you're bored and you have nothing to do. But I'm trying to help you here! Just ... I don't know. Go spar with Clarisse, or teach some new campers sword-fighting, or go to the lake," she begged, at the end of her patience. She loved Percy, she really did, and she wouldn't hesitate to die for him, but sometimes she just needed some alone time.

Percy assumed the sad puppy-eyes, his sea-green eyes going impossibly wide and his lip quivering. A guilty feeling started to build up in Annabeth, but with immense willpower, she shook it off.  _She_ wasn't the one who should be feeling guilty here.

"I'm sorry, Annie," he wheedled. "I'm sorry I bothered you! It's just ..."

"I know," she said softly, cupping his cheek and placing a kiss on his lips. "You hate being confined. I do too. But this is for your own good. I can't ... I can't lose you again."

Percy wrapped his arms around her as tears streaked, unbidden, down her cheeks. "It's alright," he soothed, running his hands through her hair. "I'll never leave you. As long as we're together, remember? I promise I won't leave."

Tipping her head up, he brushed away her tears with his thumbs and smiled reassuringly at her, leaning in to kiss her. She tilted her head, giving him better access as the kiss quickly turned demanding and passionate, letting out a soft moan, her previous anger all but forgotten.

* * *

Percy could have stayed there making out with Annabeth all day, but soon enough she pushed him away (reluctantly, he could tell) and insisted that she had work to do, so he had better go bother someone else. He tried using his infamous puppy eyes on her, hoping she would change her mind, but she refused to look at him and shooed him away.

Wandering aimlessly around camp, occasionally stopping to chat to some of his friends, his feet soon took him to the stables. Next to the beach and the lake, the stables were his favourite place to spend his time, namely because of his ability to talk to horses and pegasi.

Amidst the awed chants of  _son of the sea! son of the sea!_ he made his way towards the last stall on the row, stopping to pet the other pegasi and greet them. A midnight black head poked out of the stall, whinnying joyfully when the pegasus spotted him.

 _Hey, boss!_ Blackjack greeted, putting his head out to nuzzle the demigod's hand. Percy laughed, stroking his mane.  _Did you bring donuts?_ His pegasus inquired eagerly, sniffing him, ears perking up. Percy laughed, producing an apple from behind his back. If horses could frown, Blackjack was certainly doing it right now.

"No complaints," Percy said teasingly, chortling at the look on his pegasus's face. "Apples are good for you. Donuts are not," he wagged a finger in Blackjack's face. Grudgingly, the pegasus accepted the apple.

"You want to stretch your wings, buddy?" he whispered, causing Blackjack to neigh in excitement. Percy smiled, opening the stable door, vaulting onto the pegasus's back and whooping as Blackjack took off at a gallop, one powerful beat of his wings lifting them up into the air, holding on tight as they soared higher and the cabins were reduced to the size of Legos below them. Smiling in contentment, he wrapped his arms around Blackjack's neck. Percy loved these stolen moments in the sky, content in the knowledge that he was safe from Zeus's wrath atop his trusty pegasus. It was the only way he could be in his uncle's domain without being shot down.

They swooped and dived as they passed the field where the other pegasi were grazing, Blackjack deciding to show off a little by performing a series of aerial tricks; a loop-the-loop that had Percy nearly falling off; a daring plunge, tucking in his wings and lifting off at the last second.

"Warn me next time you do that!" Percy yelled over the howling wind, breathless from the near fall.

 _Sorry, boss,_ Blackjack said in his head, not sounding sorry at all. Percy patted him fondly and steered him towards the open sea.


End file.
